Hello Summer HPCers! What an amazing and busy Summer Semester! You have certainly exceeded my wildest craftalong dreams; I never could have imagined that so many people would adore crafting classes and challenges with a HP twist. I am thrilled, and I just hope that next semester is even more inspiring and fun!

The Summer Semester has lasted 16 weeks. In that 16 weeks, HPCers have posted 510 projects (over that really since many of y'all had multiple pieces in a submission...i.e. jennie's bracelets). That is an average of 31.9 projects posted each week and an average of 4.6 projects per day! Just WOW!!! Well done students!

The Fall Semester will start in a mere 2 days. I want to first thank the Fall HPC Staff; y'all have been amazing! The Fall HPC Staff has such a wealth of ideas; prepare yourself for lots more fun in the Fall!

Now for the exciting bit, FALL SNEAK PEEKS!---All classes will be available in the Fall: Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Astronomy, History of Magic, Herbology, Arithmancy, Study of Ancient Runes, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Muggles Studies, Alchemy, Flying, and Apparition. And your professors have come up with fabulous homework that really will get your crafty gears turning.

---After much discussion with my Deputy Headmistress jennieingram, I have decided not to do House Points next semester. In the end, I don't want even one new craftalonger not wanting to craft because they fear hurting their house's chance of winning the House Cup.

---Now after a bit of brainstorming, there is something wondrous and new coming in the Fall that should ease any pain caused by the loss of House Points; I don't want to give too much away...but I bet you will be jumping at the chance to collect these.

---Final Fall Sneak Peek, HPCers will be able to start taking their OWLs! Ordinary Wizarding Levels, better known as OWLs, are advanced crafting projects. OWLs are to be more complex, challenging projects. There is no hard and fast rule on how many hours a project should take, because speed and difficulty levels are too subjective. What we are really looking for is a project that will be a personal challenge to you and takes at least 3-4 weeks to finish. To get you started on your OWL brainstorming (NO CRAFTING YET!), I have listed the OWL Exams below. Please hold onto any questions about OWLs until Fall starts so that you are able to read all the instructions regarding OWLs.

--Defence Against the Dark Arts: Option 1-The patronus is an effective charm against dementors and to call for help when in need, though difficult to master. Craft something using your patronus animal. Option 2-Craft something inspired by one of the DADA professors.

--Charms: Research the different charms and show your mastery of a particular charm by crafting something inspired by it. For example, Alohomora is an opening charm; craft something that opens or has an opening. Another example, Confundus is a confusion charm; craft something you find a bit confusing.

--Potions: Option 1- Show off your ability to work with many ingredients by showcasing 3 different colors/pattern/textures. Colors can be monochromatic. A variegated yarn or one fabric swatch with various colors within it counts as one color. Option 2- Research different potions and show your mastery by crafting something inspired by it.

--Astronomy: Option 1- Craft a star chart. Option 2-Interpret the solar system into a craft. Option 3-It is believed that we can only see 5% of the universe, the rest is made up of Dark Matter and Dark Energy which is invisible to us. Create something where at first glance you can only see a small portion, but when you look closer you can find the rest of the details.

--History of Magic: Option 1-Create 4 different items, one item for each house, these items should reflect your interpretation of the characteristics of each house. Option 2- Craft 3 items which represent 3 characters within the Harry Potter series. Option 3-Craft something using a vintage pattern, material, or technique.

--Herbology: Research magical and mundane plants, and show your knowledge by creating something inspired by one or more plants that could be found in a wizard’s or witches’ garden.

--Arithmancy: Bridget Wenlock was a famous thirteenth-century Arithmancer, and the first to establish the magical properties of the number seven. Your OWL exam is to turn in something that involves the number seven.

--Study of Ancient Runes : Option 1-Use an intricate charted design; you may create your own design for this project. Option 2- Create something that contains 7 or more letters/symbols. Option 3-Create a set of runes; these can be presented in one or more pieces.

--Care of Magical Creatures: Option 1-Even in the muggle world, we are surrounded by fascinating and breath-taking creatures. Craft something inspired by an everyday animal you find magical. Option 2-Dragons are terrifying yet awe-inspiring; craft something inspired by these magical creatures.

--Muggle Studies: We all know the Tales of Beetle Bard, but did you know that muggles have a vast array of fantastical stories? The most fascinating are known to muggles as fairy tales. Study these tales and craft something inspired by them.

--Alchemy: Option 1- Alchemists have, through their mystical quests, made significant contributions to our world. These include metalworking, production of inks, dyes and cosmetics, ceramics and glass manufacture, preparation of extracts and liqueurs and the invention of gunpowder. Honor the work of these alchemists by creating something from one or more of these contributions. Option 2-Alchemists seek to create the fabled Philosopher’s Stone. Create something themed around the Philosopher’s Stone.

~*Look for more details about OWLs September 1st in the HPC Fall Semester.*~

Well, that about wraps up my Fall 2012 Sneak Peek. There are still Fall Staff positions available; PM me if you are interested. And I hope to see you in the Fall! Until then, I wish you happy crafting!

jennie, the peek at your work station makes my crafty space look like a tornado hit it.

Um, you can only see part of my desk in those photos. It is now pretty darn clean, but even when I had completed all my bracelets, both ends of the table were still full of bead boxes & trays of beads, charms, tools, etc. My "desk" is actually a kitchen/dining table that I got secondhand, and put in my office. Someone on campus was selling it, along with 6 chairs. I didn't want the chairs, but it turned out that someone else did, so we split the cost! DH and I also found a tiny laptop desk to keep my laptop on, so I could keep the whole space for crafting.

jennie, the peek at your work station makes my crafty space look like a tornado hit it.

Um, you can only see part of my desk in those photos. It is now pretty darn clean, but even when I had completed all my bracelets, both ends of the table were still full of bead boxes & trays of beads, charms, tools, etc. My "desk" is actually a kitchen/dining table that I got secondhand, and put in my office. Someone on campus was selling it, along with 6 chairs. I didn't want the chairs, but it turned out that someone else did, so we split the cost! DH and I also found a tiny laptop desk to keep my laptop on, so I could keep the whole space for crafting.

Last-minute entry! (Well, I've got an even more last-minute one planned for tomorrow... For Astronomy, I've crocheted a star with which I want to yarn-bomb something in London. That way, part of me won't have to leave. I like leaving things behind in places that are dear to me.)

Class: ArithmancyHouse: SlytherinProject: Fipoemnacci - the power of loveDescription:I had a hard time to be inspired by the Fibonacci sequence, I just could not think of craft ideas for something worthwhile. The ideas I had would have taken too much work to complete, and more skill than I had. Yesterday however, I saw a haiku in the ThinkGeek newsletter, and I was inspired to craft with words! I also thought of the "elfje", which is a style of poem often used in education here. It's structed as 1,2,3,4 and 1 word per verse. Each verse should be solid on it's own, so "I - am a - girl of whom - they would often say: - frightening." doesn't quite meet criteria. The final verse should really capture the entire poem. (Elfje is the diminutive form of elf, which means either the mythical creature or eleven, the number of words in this style of poem.)

For my poem, I've taken the concept of the number of syllables from the haiku, since it seemed more of a challenge and would give me the chance to write more verses. As in the elfje, I set the requirement that each verse should be strong on its own. The number of syllables in each verse grows like the Fibonacci-sequence, up to the ninth fibonacci-number (34), and from there the sequence is reversed. Sometimes I found it really hard to count the syllables, since you really have to say each word in English to count vowels, where in Dutch you can usually go by spelling. "Sometimes" looks to me as if it has 4 syllables, but you only say 2! Anyway, I think I managed to get all counts right, so here's the poem:

Just like when I was in muggle school, I apparently procrastinate at Hogwarts too.

Class/Challenge/House Pride: Detention with SnapeHouse: RavenclawProject Name: mom's necklaceBrief Description: My mom caught her necklace on the dishwasher a few months ago. She gave it to me to see if I could fix it while still using the original clasp. After taking it apart, I'm surprised it didn't break sooner - the thread was almost worn through at multiple places.Project Picture:

Class/Challenge/House Pride: Inter-house unityHouse: RavenclawProject Name: Gryffindor HooplaBrief Description: I made this for PixieFireFly, one of my Gryffindor friends.Project Picture:

Challenge: ReducioHouse: SlytherinProject Name: Mustard yellow Blythe HatBrief Description: I was practicing a spell to make a crochet hat, but something went seriously wrong - it turned out tiny! But, happily it is just the right size for a Blythe doll, so it's still going to get some use ^_^

Challenge: Detention with SnapeHouse: SlytherinProject Name: Haberdashery storageBrief Description: I started altering this storage box ages ago, but had only done the first coat of wood stain! But with Snape looming over me I found the motivation to finish it - and finish it quick! ~_^

I can't wait for next semester - the O.W.L. challenges look great! ^_^ I wish I had made a Portkey so I could have finished all of the challenges for this semester ... maybe next time! ^_^

Challenge: DivinationHouse: RavenclawProject Name: Butterfly BraceletBrief Description: It took me awhile to find an omen that represented something good to me (or at least an omen that inspired me). And then I stumbled across an excerpt talking about how butterflies were considered to be signs of good luck/fortune. I knew this had to be my inspiration because it said the ancient Greek for butterfly was Psyche(a name I used in Latin back in HS).

Butterflies stand for freedom, change, and major transformation. For me, I'm desperately in need of something that reminds me that when the other shoe drops it might not always be a bad thing. So I created a bracelet with a butterfly charm to symbolize that.

(Apologies for the darkness of the photo)

(A little better of an image)

Challenge: ArithmancyHouse: RavenclawProject Name: Fibonacci EarringsBrief Description: I created some earrings with jump rings and seed beads following the fibonacci sequence, starting at one and ending at 8.

Challenge: HerbologyHouse: RavenclawProject Name: Secret KeeperBrief Description: Initially I was going to make a rowan wand, but the bowtruckle in the tree didn't like me taking a branch so I made something representing the rowan by using its characteristics. I used an old box I had because the rowan symbolizes protection. The white is from the rowan's flowers which symbolize cleansing and safekeeping. The red recalls the color of its berries. The star inside the lid is representative of the star that resides at the base of each berry another protective symbol. The box was initially yellow and I kept the inside that color instead of covering it to represent inspiration, a lesser recognized symbolism of the rowan.

Well, during my summer I had hoped to complete one project in each category, since I *certainly* won't be able to do so over the semester. I came pretty darn close to my goal, only missing Arithmancy. I can't beleive how much I did though. That's 23 projects in 3 months! And you know what else?

NONE OF IT, would have happened without the inspiration provided here, by the amazingly wonderful muse & cheerleader that is my friend pinkleo. Darling, thank you for inspiring me more and more, every single day. They say that ideas can change the world, and you are proof of that statement.